WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden Friday officially raised the refugee admissions cap to 125,000 for this fiscal year.
The Biden administration admitted a record low number of refugees for fiscal year 2021, with only 11,411 refugees admitted despite setting the cap at 62,500. That was the lowest number of refugees admitted into the United States in 40 years.
Fiscal year 2022 began on Oct. 1.
Former President Donald Trump when he was in office slashed the number of refugees who could be admitted into the United States. Trump set the admissions cap at 15,000 for fiscal year 2021, which ended in Sept. 30.
When Biden first came into office, he kept the former administration's refugee cap. However, the president received backlash and raised the cap to 62,500 in May, and promised to raise the cap for fiscal year 2022.
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Here is the breakdown of refugee allocations by region:
- 40,000 from Africa
- 15,000 from East Asia
- 10,000 from Europe and Central Asia
- 15,000 from Latin America/Caribbean
- 35,000 from Near East/South Asia
An additional I0,000 are part of an unallocated reserve that will be allocated to regional ceilings as needed, according to the memorandum issued by Biden.
In the memorandum, Biden also said "the following persons may, if otherwise qualified, be considered refugees for the purpose of admission to the United States within their countries of nationality or habitual residence."
- People in Cuba
- People in Eurasia and the Baltics
- People in Iraq
- People in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
- In certain circumstances, persons identified by a United States Embassy in any location.
Reach Rebecca Morin at Twitter @RebeccaMorin_
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